Chapter 5630 Project S1
5630 Project S1
In order for Apprentice Mech Designers to advance to the next rank, it was not enough for them to settle on an original design philosophy and conduct successful research. Ñ00v€l--ß1n hosted the premiere release of this chapter.
The people who designed mechs for a living did not call themselves scientists or researchers for good reason.
The approach, mindset and work processes were substantially different, though there was also a lot of overlap.
However, any mech designer that wanted to formulate a design philosophy and realize it could not get away by conducting research alone.
They needed to apply their theories and inventions into actual mech designs and prove that their work had practical value!
A mech designer whose research capabilities was stronger than their design ability often did not go far in their careers. They lacked the love and comprehension for mechs that enabled them to break the conventional standards and improve them in a way that had never been done before.
The same was true for the opposite. Mech designers who excelled at designing mechs yet found it difficult to conduct original research were unlikely to advance to the rank of Master. They actually had to be ingenious and rigorous enough to understand deep knowledge and be able to innovate beyond the current capabilities of their civilization.
In short, good mech designers had to excel in both areas. As a first-class mech designer who attended one of the oldest and most exclusive universities located on Old Earth, there was no question Alexa's ability to design first-
class multipurpose mechs!
In order to design the mechs that represented her chosen design philosophy for the first time, Alexa did not have to design mechs according to first-class standards.
She could have settled for second-class mechs that she had grown increasingly more familiar with as she assisted Ves in his work.
It would have made her design projects a lot cheaper and easier to complete.
Yet she chose to implement her design philosophy into true first-class mech designs because they were her root and her original area of expertise.
Of course, there was no need for her to pull out all the stops and design a fully featured first-class multipurpose mech.
She had settled for designing fairly basic first-class mechs that were not that complicated, enabling her to avoid any excessive bloat.
This allowed Alexa to invest much of her attention into designing and fleshing out the novel procreation mechanisms that she had devised but never really implemented in full up to this point.
That made Alexa's idea so subversive. By transplanting the process of natural selection to the framework of living mechs, she essentially brought her products closer to nature!
"How does your Project S1 produce the next generation, exactly?" Ves inquired. "Can they generate the second generation of their mech model through parthenogenesis, or do you require your smart metal mechs to engage in a mechanical form of sexual reproduction?"
"Theoretically, Project S1 can do both, but I have decided to restrict it to the latter, sir. This is a principle that I have deliberately adopted because parthenogenesis is too selfish and solitary to match my ambition. By demanding that my living mechs can only procreate if at least two of them come together to produce a single offspring, I can encourage the formation of more complex social structures."
"Complex social structures." Ves repeated the phrase. "You mean families. You want second-generation mechs to be raised by both a daddy mech and a mommy mech, is that correct?"
His disciple nodded. "It is a much more desirable social unit than a single parent and a single child. Two parents who care about their offspring will be able to teach a wider range of lessons. Any mistakes or bad habits acquired by one parent mech will not be blindly passed on to the next generation."
"Have you thought about applying a more communal child raising model?"
"I did, but that may lead to unexpected consequences. It is best not to be overambitious. The initial family unit should be identical to a typical human family structure. The commonalities between the two will make it much easier to promote mutual understanding between the living mechs and their human owners and mech pilots."
That was extremely important, as humans tended to get freaked out whenever their complex machinery behaved in a bizarre or inscrutable fashion!
"Continue." Ves said. "I have the feeling that this is not the extent of your new framework."
"The process of procreation is never meant to end in two or three generations." Alexa emphasized. "Let us assume that my Project S1 model will remain usable and relevant for many years. As the original Project S1's continue to get used, they will constantly grow and eventually procreate when they have reached a mature stage. The second-generation smart metal mechs that are born from the originals will grow up faster and become much better prepared to confront the challenges that their 'parents' have experienced. It is conceivable that their growth trajectories are considerably better. Once they are ready to reproduce, the third-generation living mechs will not only be able to benefit from the gains of the second-generation living mechs, but also acquire a part of the inheritance passed on by their 'grandparents'!"
Ves widened his eyes. He finally understood what Alexa was truly trying to create.
A couple of reproduction cycles was not enough to produce dramatic results. Yet as long as they continued to take place over a longer stretch of years, the growing number of Project S1's would have accrued so much collective strength and knowledge that the 20th or 30th generation of living mechs would enjoy much better starting and growth conditions than their distant ancestors!
A second-generation Project S1 might start out 20 percent stronger than the first-generation copy of the smart mech model.
A fiftieth-generation Project S1 could start out 300 percent stronger than the originals that started their lineage!
This intricate process of growth, procreation, accumulation and inheritance reminded Ves of one enormous concept.
He looked at Alexa with an astonished expression. "If these reproduction cycles continue to take place over decades and centuries, then a huge web of family relations and inheritances will form. This can lead to the formation of larger and much more complicated social structures!"
"That is exactly what I am aiming for! Only with a larger and more complex social structure will subsequent generations of living mechs be able to inherit the gifts and wisdom of their elders even when their family units have broken down. Combat mechs live a violent life. It is inevitable for parents to fall. This is not a complete loss as the child mech should have already inherited a part of their spiritual strength and talents. The responsibility for raising the child mechs can be left to the grandparents, more distantly related living mechs or dedicated teacher mechs. In short, the chain of inheritance will remain unbroken as long as the living mechs grow numerous enough to form their own dynasties, and eventually an overarching civilization!"
A civilization built by living mechs alone!
Alexa certainly did not hold back in her ambition!